Vanished by James Delargy (free novel 24 TXT) 📕

probably ventured further afield or had a stash of goods to raid from.’

‘So is the heat off Nikos Iannis and Chester Grant?’ asked Anand.

Emmaline shook her head. ‘I don’t want to discount them entirely yet. We can’t be certain that Lorcan met with Nikos Iannis, but we know Nikos was desperate to get that data back. Information that is still missing.’

‘Or so he claims. It might be a cover story for the murder,’ said Rispoli.

‘But even if they did know where Lorcan was, why kill him but take Naiyana and the child?’ said Barker.

‘These things aren’t necessarily concurrent,’ said Emmaline. ‘Lorcan did say in his message that Naiyana was gone. Maybe it was an accident. Maybe she was killed to put pressure on Lorcan, who then escaped with his son and was killed.’

To Emmaline this still seemed like the most obvious solution. Or would have if there weren’t so many possibilities flying around.

‘Chester Grant, however, admits to meeting Naiyana on the thirtieth. Briefly. She was privy to sensitive information he wanted desperately to keep secret.’

‘Information that is now public,’ said Anand. ‘He’s on the brink.’

‘But back then keeping it secret was a priority.’

‘And easier done if Naiyana was dead. Giving him motive,’ said Rispoli.

‘He didn’t have time to follow her back to Kallayee and make his later meetings but he might have had someone else do it. An attempt to silence her that got out of control, killing Lorcan and then Mike Andrews and Stevie Amaranga as witnesses,’ said Oily.

‘But that’s a big secret to keep. Even bigger than the one he was already hiding,’ said Emmaline.

‘So we can rule him out?’

‘As a killer? I think so. But not as a co-conspirator for now.’

‘But that still leaves Ian Kinch, Naiyana and Dylan Maguire unaccounted for,’ said Rispoli. ‘If they had fled to protect themselves, they would have made themselves known by now.’

‘Yes. We know from Seamus Maguire that the house was in disrepair. That Lorcan was keen on leaving but she wasn’t. Given that Naiyana had told her colleague, Leona Sanchez, on the twenty-first, that she missed Perth and wanted to go back means that something changed in those few days.’

‘The affair,’ said Anand, watching on like it was a soap opera.

‘If they only have a short window of opportunity they meet on Keenan’s Run where the tyre tracks are. Other times they meet further afield like the Stay-Here. A quickie in the afternoon, illicit and thrilling. Not a bad position to be in,’ said Emmaline, with a smile she directed at everyone but which lingered on Rispoli.

‘Until it is discovered,’ said Oily, interrupting the moment.

Anand interrupted him. ‘We can’t be one hundred per cent sure it was discovered.’

Emmaline nodded. ‘True. We can’t know if either Lorcan or the miners were aware of it. What we do know is that there were some new housing materials that weren’t paid for through the family’s account or by Seamus Maguire. We can only suppose that Ian gave the family money. Perhaps to buy their silence, perhaps to keep Naiyana around.’

‘Which wouldn’t have gone down well with the other miners whether they knew about the affair or not,’ said Rispoli. ‘There would be a lot of anger.’

‘Something is said. Anger spills over into violence,’ said Emmaline.

‘But who kills who?’

That remained the big unknown.

‘What’s certain is that Lorcan and Dylan were running away from someone when Lorcan was killed. Maybe the quad tyres were slashed to force them to flee on foot.’

‘Maybe they were fleeing Mike Andrews and Stevie Amaranga,’ said Barker.

‘Then Naiyana and Ian return. Mike and Stevie confess and Naiyana orders her lover to take revenge,’ said Anand.

‘Or they decide they don’t need Mike and Stevie any longer and kill them first. Lorcan then finds out about the affair and he is disposed of as well,’ said Oily.

‘All of which doesn’t rule out a third party,’ said Emmaline. ‘A professional hired by Chester or Nikos who chases the father and son down and then kills the witnesses. Ian and Naiyana might have returned to find everyone gone. They spot the blood in the dirt and decide to flee themselves.’

There was silence around the table. They were going in circles, the affair only adding to the possibilities.

113

Lorcan

The buzzing noise could only mean one thing. Mike was trying to steal the quad. It also meant that he wouldn’t hear him approach.

Leaving Dylan in the house, safe behind the overturned bed, he took the rifle and stalked back to the coal shed.

The two utes were already there and by the time he sneaked into position the quad bike had been switched off and only the sound of angry voices remained.

He considered heading back to the house and taking cover again but was worried Mike would feed Nee and Ian some bullshit – truthful bullshit – that he had shot Stevie.

Mike being around changed his plan. He had gambled on the arsehole scarpering, allowing Lorcan to blame him for killing Stevie in Ian’s absence. By hightailing with the gold Mike would have looked even more guilty.

With the heightened tension having turned to murder, Nee would surely agree to leave. And if she remained stubborn? He would leave on his own and take Dylan. That seemed the sensible course of action. Go to his relatives in Adelaide and lay low. Ian wouldn’t have any problem if he laid low surely. Nee would follow. She would have to. To see Dylan. Then away from the strange draw of this place, they could talk.

But something held him back. He was glad to see Nee, glad that nothing had happened to her. But he realized something else: his lack of concern when she was away. He wondered if that told him something. To truly love someone surely you had to be concerned for their well-being. Especially letting her drive off for a meeting with a relative stranger in the middle of nowhere. But he had been more concerned for himself and Dylan. And yet he had